Nokia 6600 slide review: Beautiful to use

Nokia 6600 slide unboxed

The retail package of Nokia 6600 slide is quite standard. The regular charger (not the mini variety), data cable, and a set of stereo headphones on a detachable remote are the things to find in the retail box. The 1000 mAh battery is here as well, and a quick start guide and a manual complete the tally. The only bonus inside is the 512MB microSD card that ships with the handset.

The whole Nokia 6600 slide package

Nokia 6600 slide 360-degree spin

Nokia 6600 slide measures 93 x 45 x 14 mm and 52 cc. Those numbers yell compact and the phone is a joy to handle and will feel at home in the tightest pockets. The weight of 110 g, which gives the 6600 slide its pleasingly solid feel in hand, is mostly attributed to the metal body.

Design and construction

The notch of an earpiece is centrally placed right above the Nokia logo up front. The 3G-enabled handset sports a video-call camera in the top right corner, right next to an ambient light.

Earpiece and secondary video-call camera above the display

The 2.2" screen follows, which enjoys most of the slider estate. The glossy front surface is only broken through by the slightly projecting controls on the navigation deck below the display. When the screen is off, the display blends almost seamlessly with the body of the handset creating a nice monolithic effect.

Although technically not an OLED unit, the 6600 slide display was among the finest we've seen by Nokia - in both contrast and color reproduction. It also had one of the widest viewing angles we've seen in a Nokia handset. We deal with a lot of phones in our line of work and it's been a while since we last saw a display that impressed us that much. Unfortunately, it's got one serious drawback - due to its bulging shape, it easily gets scratched when you put the handset face down.

The Nokia 6600 slide screen supports QVGA resolution and up to 16M colors on a 2.2" diagonal. A Nokia trademark, sunlight legibility is great. TFT may be the garden variety screens but the slide beats the flip on that count.

That's one impressive display

Beneath the display rocker-styled knobs on both sides of the D-pad accommodate the soft keys and the Call and End button. The navigation frame of the D-pad is nicely projecting over an ample confirm key. All controls are comfortable to use and accidental mispresses are completely ruled out.

The display backlighting is relatively strong and even. Our only concern is the styling of the D-pad - the metallic finish looks coarse and unsightly.

The 2.2" display and comfortable D-pad

Sliding up unveils the alphanumeric keypad, which takes the entire lower deck of the phone. The plastic keys with pleasant metallic finish are amply sized, well defined and solid to press. Mistypes are quite unlikely, and we are very happy with the build quality and the comfort of use. Even the long-standing slider issue of insufficient headroom for the top row of keys is partly dealt with by the oval contour of the sliding bit.

A very proper keypad

The blue backlighting is very strong and even to make the handset a pleasure to use in the dark.

The strong and even blue backlighting is a treat

On the top side of Nokia 6600 slide you'll find the data/headset port under a neat plastic cap and the battery cover latch. The lanyard eyelet is on the right.

The top side of Nokia 6600 slide

The right and left side of the handset are pretty bare, featuring only the tiny charger plug al the way up on the right.

The neat sides of Nokia 6600 slide

The bottom part of the 6600 slide is completely clear too.

Bottom side is also bare

We conclude our shape-and-looks tour with the rear. The steel battery cover features a dual LED flash right under the 3-megapixel camera lens. Dead center at the bottom is the loudspeaker grill, aligned to an etched Nokia logo. One complaint we have here is that sound does get muffled when the phone is lying on a flat surface.

The steel battery cover and camera lens with LED flash

Releasing the battery cover, which is easier said that done, reveals the powerful Li-Ion 1000 mAh (BL-4U) battery and the SIM compartment. The SIM card compartment is caged under a metal bracket, which was a bit rigid at first too. But the biggest disappointment is the memory cad slot, which rules out hot-swap.

Battery life is a nice little perk - the phone stuck out for a good 5 days on a single charge.

Rear cover off

The tiny slider is a real treat to use. The elegant rounded lines and subdued gloss do make the compact handset a rare gem. The sliding action is smooth and solid, with a surprisingly short run. The only concern regarding looks is the fingerprint mess the glossy surface ends up after a surprisingly short while.

The small Nokia 6600 slide held in hand